Mishexed
by Alice Shade
Summary: An errant bowl of bewitched pasta starts a chain of events that no one expected, wanted or foresaw.


_Standard fanfiction clauses apply - what you see was written purely for entertainment and represents no attempt to procure any kind of direct or indirect profit._

 _The following story was written a long while ago in an attempt to help someone else to polish theirs. The setup is similar, but the outcome ended up vastly different. I don`t rightly remember if they published their version or not... But as I was checking up my archives, I thought this one was simply too good to let it just collect dust on my hard drive. So... enjoy. Just keep in mind, rating`s there for a reason._

* * *

Red goo dripped down, slithering across the shiny blade. She did it! She finally did it! She actually prepared arrabiata sauce. In her exuberation, Tammy almost jumped with joy. Her very first sauce that wasn`t fit to be confiscated by toxic waste disposal bureau. It was actually tasty, come to think of it, she mused as she dipped finger in it and licked it clean thoughtfully, her thoughts drifting towards the intended receiver of her efforts... Chipper.

Ever since her mother let slip the old adage about "quickest way to man`s heart is through his stomach", Tammy was hounding her about cooking lessons. While the first few attempts were nothing short of unmitigated disaster, she got better. So much better, in fact, that Donna relented from her initial resolve to personally oversee each cooking attempt and allowed her a free reign in kitchen. Although, it was mighty late, she suddenly noticed, as she glanced on the clock. Mother could be there any minute to shoo her to bed. Time to put her plan to action.

Young squirrel carefully reached into her pocket withdrawing a little paper envelope. Procuring the contents was not easy, pleasant or cheap, but it was worth the effort. According to the book graciously lent to her by Foxglove, the concoction of dried herbs and ... other ingredients... - it was supposed to become an effective love poison, ready to be mixed into any kind of food. She carefully leafed through the old fragile book, looking for intended passage. Fear... Nope. Hate... Nope. Luve... Aha! Text was badly worn out, some letters completely fading out, but it was still legible... barely.

Engrossed in the book, Tammy noticed the sound of doorsteps only when the door creaked, letting her mother in. Panicking, young squirrel promptly closed the book and dropped it down on the stool, hoping that would conceal it well enough from her mother to be overlooked. "Still cooking, Tammy?" - older squirrel questioned, taking a gander around the kitchen - "It`s quite late, you know."

\- Yes, yes, mom. I know. I`m just about done here. Give me five more minutes, will you?  
\- So I see. Well, it does look quite palatable, for a change.

With that, Donna picked up a spoon, obviously intent on sampling. Panicking even worse, Tammy snatched the spoon away from her, chiding - "It`s not for you, mom! Don`t be so pushy." Clicking her tongue, older squirrel looked her in the eye, smirk crossing her face - "Not for me, ah? Well, well, well... It seems like it`s for someone pretty special then, I suppose. Anyone I know, dear?"

Flushed, Tammy went around the table, intent on taking the bowl of sauce out of mother`s reach. Unfortunately for her, the hem of her apron caught on the corner of stool and sent it tumbling on the floor. Her precious book flipped through the air, and landed on Donna`s feet, freshly minting Tammy`s dismay. Her heart sank as mother picked the book and leafed through it.

"It`s an old cookbook! Give it back, I`m supposed to return it tomorrow." - she shouted, making a wild dash for the book. Unfortunately for her, Donna was all too familiar with her tactics, and merely sidestepped, continuing to peruse the book at her own leisure. "Someone`s in love." - she commented offhandedly, snapping the book shut then, and settling it on the pantry, - "Well, I`ll leave you to your task then, dear. Don`t forget to clean up and remember - if you`re not in bed by twelve, you`re grounded." With that, she walked out of the room, chuckling softly.

"Phew... Gotta move this quick." - opined the daughter as soon as the door closed. She flipped through the book again, and opened it on the required page again, settling it near the bowl of spice. As she opened the envelope and emptied the contents into the bowl, stirring it with free hand, she read out the incantation from the book - "Archa at dybied amdana fi, dragwyddol. Pawb gwnei , pawb canfyddi , pawb chlywch, pawb balfali , pawb ata a!"

Letting out a soft sigh, she put the wooden spoon down, clank of wood against wood breaking the sudden silence that set around her, and massaged her cheeks. "Witches be the strangest kin." - she muttered, shaking her head ruefully, - "I`ve almost tied a knot on my tongue pronouncing that." Still, the bewitched meal was ready, so she put a lid over the bowl and packed it up securely, intent on carrying it over to Rangers HQ with the first rays of the dawn.

* * *

Wrench was beginning to feel uncomfortably heavy. Come to think of it, there was some insistent sound that distracted her for a while, as well. Putting the tool down, mouse examined the workshop. Nothing in particular looked like the source of the sound. She crossed the workshop from corner to corner, trying to pinpoint the source of noise, but the volume wasn`t changing. That led her to conclude that source of sound must be travelling with her. She gave herself a once-over, and a facepalm, in that order. That was her belly growling. "Golly, when was the last time I ate?" - she asked herself aloud. All too long ago, apparently, as she suddenly recalled she was not there to partake in dinner and chose to omit supper, being too engrossed in the finetuning of Tesla capacitor. Working all night didn`t help, either, and inventor was feeling ravenous all of a sudden. Time to raid the kitchen.

As she approached the doors, her nose was assaulted by tantalising aroma. Monty was cooking breakfast. Savior incarnate, that he was. Throwing the doors open, Gadget burst into the kitchen, offering a cheery - "Good morning, Monty. Smells yummy-yum-yum, by golly! When`s breakfast?" Rotund mouse spun around, spatula raised defensively, as Gadget`s voice disrupted his culinary zen. "Oh... Phew. Scared me silly, Gadget-luv." - he offered, putting the utencil down on the table, - "It`s gonna be a while, I`m afraid. Plumb forgot about the bloody kettle, I did, flooded me half the stove. Sorry `bout that, luv. I`ll fix ya a sandwich if yer too hungry ta wait."

Slumping down, Gadget sighed. "No, no, you go ahead. I`ll make the sandwich myself." - she offered half-heartedly, throwing the pantry open. Cringing, Monty intervened, snatching the bread loaf out of Gadget`s hands, - "Now, luv, I`ll have none of that. Yer a genius in yer workshop, but a menace in the kitchen." She pouted, but knew he was right, essentially. Last time she attempted to make food resulted in two days of decontamination effort before tree became habitable again. Hopefully, Chip would wake up soon enough and fix some sandwiches while Monterey`s indubitably scrumptious, but oh so slow culinary effort could be finished.

"Can I raid the fridge, at least?" - she plead with big mouse, who scrutinised her for a moment, then shrugged. "Well... I suppose. But I`m watchin` you, luv. Don`t try to do anything Dale wouldn`t." - he warned seriously, returning most of his attention toward the stove. Her mood uplifted slightly, Gadget opened the lid of icebox... And slumped again. Fridge was chock-full of Tammy`s cooking. Early cooking, to boot. Squirrel had a habit of bringing over food for "Chipper" practically every morning, and while Chip quite enjoyed her latest efforts, first attempts were only slightly above the weapon-grade explosives and toxic sludge Gadget herself produced in kitchen. It would be necessary to throw those abominations of culinary out sometime, preferably before they would write their own declaration of independence, but Chip had proved to be pretty reticent about allowing the act of disposal. He deemed it would be rude to Tammy.

As she contemplated what would be the least dangerous to eat, door opened again, letting Chip in. "Chip, we really, really, REALLY need to clean out the fridge." - she offered absentmindedly, as she shuffled the jars and plates around, looking for something not immediately toxic at least, - "Tammy`s horrors are overflowing the fridge as is." Monty piped in, his spatula swishing in the air, as he exclaimed - "I second that motion, Chip! I`ve been throwing away perfectly good vegetables to make space for them bloody horrors already." Chip scoffed, tugging on his lapels - "I can`t believe you guys! Tammy put love and effort in those foods. The least you could do is not to refer to them as horrors. They`re perfectly fine dishes, made for all of us."

Gadget plucked out a plate of suspiciously murky green jello, and overturned it in front of Chip`s face, deliberately slowly. Despite the gravitation, jello remained attached to the plate, wiggling ominously. "You first." - she offered, grinning as his ears flattened against head. Maybe Chip would`ve taken his chances if it were actual jello, but he was aware that particular dish began it`s life as coleslaw. Taking his silence as a declaration of surrender, mouse snatched cleaver from the knife stand and started hacking the green substance off the plate. By the time she got to third dish, each proving more difficult to dispose of then previous one, Chip joined in, scowl firmly plastered over his face. Yet, even he could not point out anything redeeming about the substances they were disposing of.

Although disposing of most offending of the dishes had elevated Gadget`s mood slightly, she still felt distraught, since fridge had failed to yield anything immediately edible. And she felt awkward about asking Chip to make her a sandwich just yet - afterwards, she just had all but browbeaten him into throwing out foods prepared by his almost girlfriend. Thinking about Tammy made mouse chuckle slightly - even with all the denial it was obvious Chip had a soft spot for exuberant squirrel. Speaking of whom, she just... Knock-knock-knock!... Just came over, probably.

"Foxglove`s early today." - remarked Monty, his eyes riveted to the steaming pot of cheeze&clam chowder he was simmering on the stove, - "Or is it little miss cook?" Apparently, the excess of bad cooking had gotten on his nerves, surmised Gadget as she went to the door to answer it. Sure enough, it was Tammy. With a bowl of something that smelled good even through the lid. Gadget`s mood began elevating rapidly. For a second, she even felt genuine love for the squirrel. Then her mind plunged that hope into the depth of despair as she recalled Tammy`s cooking was intended for Chip. Still, maybe she could steal a bite or two.

"Hello, Tammy. Here to feed Chip?" - she offered, her smile a bit strained as she heard her stomach growling again. Apparently, Tammy heard it as well, but disregarded it with brief - "Hey, Gadget. GOOOOD MORNING, CHIPPER!" As young squirrel bounded into the kitchen, mouse followed her with hungry gaze and sighed. The evils of young love, inflicting such a torture on her obliviously. Chip is a fool, she decided suddenly, a girlfriend who would cook for you is simply to kill for. Especially if you can`t cook.

In the kitchen, Tammy had unveiled her latest creation. Even Monty had to admit - pasta arrabiata looked simply delicious, and smelled even better. Perhaps too good. Distant rumble started in the depths of the tree, culminating in a crescendo of one-munk stampede as Dale burst into the kitchen. Not a lot of things could wake goofy chipmunk from his slumber, but tasty food and hot sex were among the sure-fire methods.

He made it into the kitchen just in time to see Tammy thrusting her bowl in Chip`s face. Chip, who was almost caught red-handed disposing of her earlier creations, had beaten hasty retreat to the couch, and that`s where Tammy pinned him down. Sensing an opportunity, Gadget came closer, offering - "I can put that in fridge for you, Chipper." She hoped her smile was not too desperate to be seen through, but bowl`s promise and allure whittled her willpower brutally. Chip saw through it. "Actually, I`d quite rather you help me stand up." - he offered somewhat sarcastically.

As Gadget reached out to him, Tammy elbowed her out of the way and grabbed Chip`s hand instead, pulling him to his feet. "Hey, hey, what`s the big idea!... I asked Gadget." - offered chipmunk, a bit too flabbergasted to handle this with aplomb. Tammy`s reply was predictably unpredictable. "But I`m cuter!" - she insisted, bowl precariously waggling in her free hand, as she kept a hold of Chip`s arm with other. Gadget watched the bowl like a hawk. "She`s stronger then you, though." - retorted Chip, still confused beyond smoothtalking.

"SO NOT!" - apparently, Tammy disagreed with his reasoning, as she flexed her arm, in a misguided attempt to show off her muscles. That backfired horribly, as Chip took advantage of it, more then fed up with childish antics at his expense. "Let`s test that." - he offered curtly as he suddenly leaned back, falling flat on the couch he just tried to stand up from. Tammy expected nothing of a sort, and, naturally, fell over right on top of conniving chipmunk. Precise as a clockwork, Gadget`s hand caught the bowl just as Tammy`s support of it tilted beyond reasonable. Prize!

She did not have time to get away with her prize, though. Tammy`s cheeks grew red as she pushed herself off Chip, and barreled for the exit, her muffled - "You meanies!" trailing behind her. Gadget thought nothing much of it. Lovers have little quarrels all the time. They`ll kiss and make up soon enough. What she thought much about, was Chip snatching the bowl back. "It`s MY food." - he said firmly.

"Oh, come on, Chip!" - that was obviously Dale, - "Just a bite!" "Yah, mate. We`re a team, we share." - rumbled Monty, as he advanced from other side. Zipper simply dived for the bowl from above. Chip was all too used to this friendly hazing, however, and it showed as he nimbly maneuvered the bowl out of everyone`s reach, evading Monty, sidestepping Zipper and then sending Dale careening straight into the couch. Gadget stepped to the side and snatched up a fork. Just as Chip made his way past Monty, she sunk the fork into pasta, and shoved it into Chip`s mouth, effectively distracting him. "Oooopen wide, Casanova." - she encouraged, making sure her distraction worked. Sure enough, Chip`s attention shifted to the food in his mouth. That gave her plenty of time to whip up second fork she kept behind her back and snatch a mouthful herself.

For a second it was all quiet, as Chip and Gadget glared at each other over the bowl, each still with fork in their mouth. Then chipmunk offered tired - "..Gadget..." Horseplay going over the line. Guys immediately straightened up and ceased their attempts to grab for Chip`s bowl. Gadget did not relent, however. Instead, she made puppy dog eyes at Chip. "...I`m really hungry." - she offered in a way of excuse. Air between them tingled for a few more seconds, then Chip looked down. "Well... OK, I suppose. You`ve missed the supper after all." - he admitted, as he let go of the bowl and licked his fork clean - "It`s all yours, Gadget."

"Thankee." - she managed, as she hastily devoured pasta. It tasted... divinely. It made her feel strong enough to take on the world. After the initial hilarity of the food scuffle settled down, Rangers had settled down to their respective tasks. Gadget was savoring the early meal, Monty tended to the chowder with the help of Zipper, Chip began setting the table for proper breakfast and Dale went out to the window to think about Foxglove and sigh wistfully. That didn`t last for too long, as the bat in question suddenly swooped into the kitchen. "Heya, folks. Is it open doors day today, or something?" - she quipped, as she wrapped a wing around Dale`s shoulders to treat him to good morning kiss. "Golly, Tammy must`ve forgotten to close it when she left." - offered Gadget, tactfully omitting to mention that Tammy actually stormed out in a huff. Actually...

She took a look at the bowl, which she had all but licked clean, by now. The taste was incredible. Well, maybe Tammy`s earliest attempts were not exactly good, but today, her cooking was to kill for, Gadget decided, as she went to the sink to wash it. Stacking it with other dishes that they freed earlier, she thought about Tammy again. And decided that they did treat her a bit too roughly. Especially her, with all the interference she pulled just to get the food Tammy made for Chip. Mouse felt slightly ashamed and decided to make up for that somehow. She didn`t have to think long about a good way to.

"Guys? I`ll go take Tammy`s plates back to her." - she announced, drying them with the towel, - "You go on with the breakfast, I`m full already." She pretended not to notice somewhat dirty look Chip shot to her. Sometimes, black-nosed chipmunk could be too egotistic for his own good. Noone objected, so she packed up plates in her backpack and departed for Tammy`s house.

* * *

As she approached the house, Gadget spied Donna departing. Moving quickly to intercept, she had learned that Tammy`s mother was bound for the market, and that mouse is quite welcome to knock and enter, if she were to talk to Tammy. Thanking her, Gadget approached the house. For some reason, she kept thinking about younger squirrel. Previously, she rarely devoted time to contemplate Tammy seriously, but this morning, she couldn`t help herself. Knocking did not yield anything besides muffled "Go away!" shouted from somewhere inside the house. Probably, Tammy was still feeling raw about the joke Chip pulled on her earlier. Not a problem.

Gadget considered the tree carefully. Then, undone her belt and slipped it out. With a flick of her wrist, buckle swung through the air and latched onto the branch overhead. A simple swing and grab later, and Gadget was by the open window, slipping the belt back around her waist. Clasping the buckle shut, she slinked through the window... And came face-to-face with angry squirrellette. "You?... What are you doing here?" - she rasped, her eyes puffy and red. Apparently, Chip`s joke hit her harder then Gadget would`ve expected, mouse mused, as she felt an urge to hug Tammy. Actually...

She acted on said urge, giving surprised Tammy a quick hug. "Look, I`m sorry about what happened." - she offered quickly, - "Boys are horseplaying all the time. Chip didn`t mean anything bad about it." Tammy wasn`t exactly buying it yet.

\- Yeah, right.  
\- No, I`m serious. Just the last week, he pulled the same prank on Dale. Chip`s not the kind to take advantage of a girl like that.  
\- Right-o. So why are you here, and not him?  
\- Uh... Well, to tell the truth, it never occurred to any of us that you were seriously bothered by it. I`ve came over to return your dishes, see? By the way, Chip sends his thanks for pasta. It was extremely tasty.  
\- Uh... Thanks, or whatever. Is that all?  
\- Well.. I thought so, but you`ve been crying, so... Uh, look, I`m really, really, really sorry about it. Noone wanted to upset you so. It`s just that boys sometimes fail to see when horseplay is going too far.  
\- Yeah, yeah, I got it.  
\- Do you want me to talk to Chip about it, maybe? Tell him to back off or something?  
\- No! Look, Gadget, I know you mean well and all, but don`t you stick your nose in my relationship with Chipper, alright!? It`s none of your beeswax to begin with.  
\- Owch. Well, I`m there for you if you need anything.  
\- No, THANKS. I`ll somehow manage without your meddling.

Gadget was stably feeling worse and worse about the conversation. For some reason, each rebuff by Tammy felt like an ice lump sinking into her stomach. She wanted squirrel to warm up to her a bit, not push away. "Am I bothering you, Tammy?" - she pled, looking on squirrel plaintively, - "You`re... well, whatever I`ve done, I didn`t mean it, and I`m really sorry about it." Tammy snorted derisively - "Sure. You don`t mean to mess things up every time I show up. Of course." Now that felt like a full-sized blow to the stomach, almost enough to make her reel.

\- I don`t really understand, Tammy. If I bother you somehow, just tell me what I`ve done, and I`ll do my best to make up for it, I swear.  
\- Oh, cut the crap, will you? As if I don`t see how you look on Chipper.  
\- Wait, what?... You... What?... You really think I`m... oh... Tammy, that`s just silly. I`m not interested in Chip in... that way.  
\- Stop making a fool of yourself, Gadget, and just get out. You`re not going to make a fool of me, that`s for sure.  
\- Look, how can I persuade you? Anything. Name it, and I`ll do it.  
\- Arrange me a date with Chip.  
\- Will do.  
\- ...What?...  
\- Will do, I said. How about Saturday?  
\- Are you mocking me?!  
\- I`m serious as a heart attack, Tammy. If you want a date with Chip, then by golly, I`ll arrange one for you.  
\- I don`t believe you...  
\- Then I guess I`ll just have to let actions speak for me, no?  
\- ...Are you serious about it?  
\- As I said, serious as a heart attack. If that`s what you want, then so it will be.  
\- Well, um... Look, don`t do anything yet. I don`t understand you, and I sure as hell don`t want you to mess with Chip anymore then you already are.  
\- Well, how can I prove my goodwill then?  
\- ...You`re really determined to do that, are you?... Ok, fine. Whatever. Listen here. I know you Rangers take dayoffs sometimes. Tell me when Chip takes one and where he`ll go, and I`ll consider you dyed in the wool friend, how about that?  
\- This Saturday, a-chally. We`re all taking dayoff. He`s undecided still about where to go, though. He always decides in the last minute.  
\- Wha... Really?  
\- Cross my heart and hope to die.  
\- Um... Well, gosh. Way to make me feel awkweird here, Gadget. Thanks, I guess.

On impulse, Gadget reached out again, and hugged Tammy, this time lingering slightly. "Golly, I`d never want to upset you." - she muttered softly, savoring the tenderness of hug. Tammy allowed that, but it was obvious she was more then a bit weirded out. "Uh... Gadget, are you OK?" - she quipped, tapping her shoulder. Mousette disengaged her embrace, and shrugged slightly, looking down. "I think I am. It`s just... I mean, I was really hungry, and Chip let me have most of pasta, and I was like... wow, Tammy is really putting it all into those. So tasty, and then I got envious because I can`t cook at all, and then I thought Chip was being rude and didn`t appreciate food, but then I remembered he wouldn`t toss out your food even when it spoiled in the fridge, but he still was not polite about pranking you like that, and then I thought you`d probably want those plates back, and... And... Um, I`ve said too much, didn`t I?" - she offered, her infamous babble coming through with vengeance.

Blinking, Tammy attempted to process the torrent of words. "So... you`ve had the pasta in the end?" - she drawled. Gadget looked contrite - "Well, most of it. Chip sampled it, and said it was really good, but I was really really really hungry, and he let me have it." She half-expected squirellette to explode, but Tammy smiled slightly instead, offering - "Well, it`s good that you liked it. As long as Chip understands it was made for him. Still, it`s sweet of you to bring plates back. I`m sorry for yelling at you before, I just felt a bit raw about this whole... ordeal. Is Chip really keeping all the foods I`ve made that he haven`t eaten yet?" Still wary, Gadget replied - "Actually, yes. He does not always get to eat what you made, but he never throws any away... Well, at least not until we make him clear out what`s clearly not eadible anymore, that is."

Apparently, that cheered up Tammy more then enough to make her almost jovial. Some more pleasantries were exchanged, then Gadget left, biding her goodbyes and promising to return with more information about where to catch black-nosed chipmunks off-duty. As Gadget trudged back to HQ, a sudden thought crossed her mind. Chip does not deserve Tammy. Nor appreciates her. She was startled by that thought, but as she thought, it became more then just a thought - it became a theory. Facts supporting said theory flocked into her mind quickly. Chip did not deserve Tammy. Tammy deserved someone more appreciative then Chip. Someone who would give due to her cooking, to her beauty, to her sheer and chipper personality. Someone like Gadget. Wait, what?... What nonsense.

* * *

Blonde mouse yawned and made a face. Her reflection returned the favor. She looked... less then fresh. Decisively less. Splashing cold water over her face, Gadget shuddered and sighed. She`s been plagued by the dreams. Not quite what she`d call nightmares, but nonetheless disturbing dreams that made her wake up several times during the night, heart pounding and forehead dripping. By four in the morning, she gave up and opened up her old stash of veronal. Something she had never done ever since leaving the old plane she`s been living in before Ranger HQ. Back then... Back then she took sedatives to sleep at night, jarred by the absence of her father. Ever since she had found out that he didn`t abandon her willingly, her sleep drastically improved, and she had no more nightmares requiring medication... Until last night, it seems.

Matters were exacerbated by the fact that dreams had no reason to disturb her so. In all of them, she was following someone. Someone she probably knew, but who, she could not really put a finger on, yet. And never succeeding. In the meadow, over the lake, through the factory, under the moon surface - her imagination was as generous as ever, but yielded nothing to hint her who was she trying to follow. That drove her crazy. She needed some way to distract herself. Well, what to do... What to do.

As she returned to her room to change into daily clothes, mousette spied a dress hanging in the far corner of her wardrobe. White summer dress, quite pretty, but alas, not exactly a good fit to her. It was Chip`s first and last attempt to give her a gift of clothing. First, for obvious reasons, and last, because she simply couldn`t fit into that dress comfortably. It was a size too small for her. Back then, it was simply amusing to her, but embarassed Chip to no ends. Then again, anyone could make a mistake converting american sizes into european. Now, that she thought of it, it occured to her that she kept the dress for exactly the same reasons why Chip kept Tammy`s food. But why not make use of it, somehow?

As she dressed up, an idea popped in her head. She mulled it over. Then went to table and jotted down figures on the paper. It figured. This dress would be close to perfect fit for Tammy. Mousette considered her figures, trying to envision it in her mind. First, her own body. She knew her dimensions to the dot. Tammy was a bit tougher to imagine, but a feasible task for Gadget`s brain, nonetheless. It seemed to fit. Tammy was a bit thinner then Gadget by the virtue of being younger. Especially, the slim hip line, which was the main problem Gadget herself had with the dress... slender lean hip line... supple figure... leaning... matching... melding... kissing... WHAT!?

Blonde jerked upright, her eyes darting around, as she pressed hand to still her beating heart. Did she just... had a naughty daydream? About TAMMY, of all people? Little Tammy? So... so wrong. They were both girls. Tammy wanted Chip. Tammy was way too young. Tammy was... so lean. Proportionally balanced. Natural. Enticing... NO! Not again! Shuddering, Gadget run to the bathroom and splashed wet water in her face until she calmed down. That was crazy experience. Why would she suddenly... think that kind of thing?

She decided to give the dress to Tammy. By the look of it, dress was just the right size for her, and being Chip`s gift, it would make a lot of sense to pass it to a girl he`s really interested in. And maybe without it to fill her mind with images of Tammy`s lean figure, she would no longer yearn to run her fingers over the slender curves, marvelling at the sheer perfection of ... AAAGH!

Her condition was not overlooked by fellow Rangers, though. She`s been able to downplay it by claiming she simply had an obsessive idea, but she knew that ruse won`t hold. Mousette needed some way to purge the uncomfortable feeling before it manifested itself in some embarassing way. She could not help but snap at Chip a few times, as she considered the hows and whys. For some reason, he always managed to interrupt her thoughts with yet another "Is everything alright?" type inquiry at the worst possible times.

Choosing to distance herself from Rangers, she went to workshop, where blissful solitude was abundant. Gadget was less then thrilled with her mental disturbances, so she resolved to attempt her idea as soon as possible. To facilitate that, she brought dress to the workshop, and examined it in detail, making sure it was indeed well-suited for Tammy. During the course of examination, she noticed a small patch sewn into the dress from the inside, at the bust level. Something hard was inside. She never noticed that before, as she never managed to get dress on her far enough to actually fiddle with top. Curiosity piqued, she carefully cut the patch off. Under it, there was a ring.

So that`s what made Chip so embarassed and tightlipped about the whole affair, she mused, as she held the ring to the light, admiring the diamonds set in the band. To think he was once so serious as to actually attempt slipping her an engagement ring. Unbelievable. Well, hopefully, he would be able to present this ring to Tammy sometime. Mousette set the ring aside, and returned her attention to the dress. A few minor adjustments later, all was ready. What to do with ring, though? She picked the silver band and held it to the light again. Such a pretty thing. Too bad she wasn`t the right person to wear this. Tossing the ring up in the air and catching it, Gadget chuckled. It would prove to be a good keepsake for a while. Eventually, though, it would be reasonable to pass it to Tammy as well.

* * *

Treading the familar road to Chestnutts` house, Gadget considered her options again. There was no way to deny the facts. She felt sexual attraction towards Tammy. Emotional attraction as well. How to deal with it? Tammy had a crush on Chip, that much was self-evident. However, most crushes never evolve into actual relationship. On the flip side, Tammy did claim she had a "relationship". Chip does not acknowledge it, though, so on the account of Tammy, it`s crush on Chip and nothing more.

But what about Chip? At some point of time, he was interested enough to consider engagement to Gadget. Gadget herself, as she reaffirmed, had no interest in Chip. No romantic interest at least. Chip denied having any kind of relationship with Tammy, citing age difference as a reason to abstain. On the flip side, he had been quite defensive about Tammy`s signs of attention lately. Initially, her "Chipper" antics simply made him annoyed and exaperated. Food, however, changed that into a quiet acceptance and even, to some degree, encouragement.

By all the signs, Chip was an obstacle in everything. He had a high chance of still harboring undesired and unreciprocated affection for Gadget. He also had a high chance to be currently interested in romancing Tammy, despite his claims to the contrary. In his absense, Gadget could consider ways to approach Tammy and breach the question of... dating? No. A bit too early for that. Dating could wait till later. Chip had to go, though. And the sooner, the better. What to do, though?

While she was pondering, she had covered most of distance. As she raised her hand to knock on the door, she reached a decision. She would give Chip one last chance to enter into a good meaningful relationship with Tammy. And if he`d blow his chance, he would be removed out of the picture. By any means necessary. Tammy herself answered the door his time. "Oh... Hello there, Gadget. What brings you here today?" - she offered, amiably. Gadget couldn`t help but notice still quite guarded attitude. That was to be expected, though.

"Hey there, Tammy. I`ve been thinking about what we talked about last time, you know?" - she offered, smiling, as she pulled knapsack off her back carefully, - "And I think I`ve got just a thing to catch Chip`s attention right here." Her interest piqued, Tammy let mouse in and led her to bedroom without any further ado. Once there, Gadget opened up her knapsack, and whipped out white dress. It was obvious Tammy got impressed, as she uttered - "Gosh, that`s so... pretty."

"Sure is. Why don`t you... try it on?" - for some reason, Gadget could not speak fluently, her breath catching each time she snuck a glimpse on Tammy. Young squirrel was too tempted by the dress to object. She briefly disappeared behind the wardrobe door, for which Gadget was immencely grateful. Some dark primal part in the depth of her mind was horribly disappointed she didn`t get to see Tammy undressing, but the rest of mind insisted it was a GOOD THING (TM), as it spared her of a chance to really blow everything to hell. That mattered little, though, because when Tammy emerged in the dress, Gadget felt her breath stopping anyway.

"...You look gorgeous." - she rasped finally, tearing her eyes away from the vision that clouded her daydreams so much. Tammy was obviously feeling just as self-conscious as Gadget was. "Um... thanks. Are you sure it`s OK?" - she asked timidly. Coughing slightly to clear her throat, Gadget mustered her resolve to answer - "Of course I`m sure. It would be a crying shame to let this dress go to waste. It`s perfect for you." "How come you never wore it?" - inquired young squirrel, still incredulous there was a female who would not take advantage of a dress so pretty. Gadget rubbed her ear, looking bashful as she answered honestly - "It`s a bit too small for me, Tammy. I`m kind of... hippy, I guess? Wait, no. Not hippie. I mean... Er, what I was trying to say is that it does not fit me in the hips. I`d just rip it, if I tried to wear it." Blinking, Tammy cast an inquisitive look over Gadget`s form. "You don`t really seem all that bigger then I am." - she offered skeptically.

"Well, I am. And I`m not particularly good at wearing dresses anyway." - Gadget replied, smirking slightly - "Lots of girls would kill for your hips, Tammy, yanno?" Squirrel twirled around, and blushed - "Aw, shucks. You`re flattering me." Gadget snuck behind Tammy, and offered - "Not at all. See for yourself." Her paws slipped under Tammy`s arms, pausing over her sides. "Your proportion is actually within golden standard." - she muttered, sliding her paws over Tammy`s sides on her waist, and over her hips, - "Nine-eight-nine ratio, the staple of enticing figure." She had to move away abruptly not to betray herself by doing something deliberately sexual. Tammy`s proximity drove her nuts. Squirrellette had not thought much about this, too taken with the concept of Gadget as actual friend, instead of just someone she knew, - "Gosh, it`s awful nice of you to say, Gadget. You know, you`re actually a swell gal to hang out with. I wish I`d know earlier."

Gadget`s heart leaped at that. First success. Press the attack according to the plan. "Oy. Well, it`s never too late for some things, you know." - she offered softly, forcing herself to sit back on the bed through immense willpower effort. Tammy nodded thoughtfully, and blushed - "I guess I... Er, thought you`re my rival all that time." Gadget shook her head firmly, grateful for a little sidetrack, answering honestly - "I`ve never been interested in Chip. He had something for me at one point, I suspect, but I think he understood I`m not miss Right for him a while ago, already."

Tammy sat down next to Gadget, suddenly, utterly serious. "Why, though? I don`t get it. Why weren`t you interested in Chip? I... Well, even I can see you wouldn`t have to do much to get him." - she asked, looking on mouse inquisitively. Gadget shrugged - "I don`t know, Tammy. Why do people fall in love? There`s no way to predict whom you might fall in love with. Maybe I could`ve had Chip easily. But I don`t want him. He`s a swell guy and a good friend, but I simply... You know. Don`t like him that way." Tammy`s nose twitched cutely as she mulled over that confession - "Don`t feel attracted to him, you mean?"

Mouse nodded, sighing softly - "At times, I thought he`s really torn up about that. But hey, what could I do? I like him, but I`m not ready to give him that much. In a way, I`ve been really glad when you... well, appeared. Maybe you`re the girl to give him what he wants." Tammy nodded thoughtfully, her face serious with just a hint of blush - "I hope so. I`ve never realised you actually were glad I`ve... well, appeared. I`m, er, sorry if I gave you undue trouble because of that." "Water under the bridge, Tammy. No hard feelings here." - blonde assured her, grinning.

They`ve talked nigh into afternoon, each quite taken by new and unexpected opportunity. Each loved it, for their own reasons. Gadget also suffered horribly throughout the whole talk, torn between the desire to grab Tammy and shower her with kisses and understanding of the consequences. The sweetest torture she ever experienced, she mused morosely as she made her way to the HQ. At least, she had achieved something tangible - that being an agreement with Tammy about Saturday plans. Gadget would call her around noon and let her know what exactly to be ready for.

* * *

"Heya, Gadget!" - Dale was on the lookout. Probably waiting for Foxglove to arrive. She nodded to chipmunk curtly, and meandered inside. "Hey, where were you?" - he shot a question in her back. Gadget sighed quietly. "I`ve been hanging out with Tammy." - she offered softly, some part of her still on cloud nine. "Tammy? Huh, I thought you don`t like her all that much." - offered rednosed trickster, as conversation caught his attention full-time, - "What gives?"

Mousette shrugged and plopped on the couch. "I don`t rightly know, Dale. Maybe I just needed a female friend." - she offered offhandedly, question echoing her own wondering. "Hey, and what Foxy is, chopped liver?" - trust to a goof to twist the question in silly way. Gadget chortled at that - "Dale, are you kidding? She`s all over you every minute she`s here. What, you`d actually expect me to drag her away from you for some kind of pow-wow?" Dale`s face elongated nearly twice as he contemplated the suggestion. "Oh, yeah, I guess she sorta is. Well, not that I object, heh." - he admitted, grinning goofily.

"You`d better, Dale." - inventor offered quietly, as she closed her eyes, trying to relax a bit, - "You`d be really hard-pressed to do better then her." "Don`t I know it!... Er, wait, what do you mean, do?!" - truly, Dale`s amasing non-sequitur abilities were at peak today. "Well, I mean in it in general. As in, you`re not likely to find anyone better suited to you, then Foxglove is. But now that you mention it, I suggest you don`t try "doing her" in my workshop no more. Not sure if you noticed, but you upset a bottle of glue." - Gadget offered, cracking a grin at flabbergasted chipmunk - "Acryloxide based glue, at that. The kind that people usually call liquid glass or crazy glue." Dale turned maroon from the connotation - "...Gadget!... Ugh. What`s gotten into you?"

Mouse merely smirked at him - "You`re a big enough boy to talk frank, ain`tcha? Besides, I`m just looking out for you. As joined at the hip as you appear when she`s around, I doubt you`d like being glued together." Dale`s blush intensified into almost blue tint, but then he gave up, and laughed out nervously - "Well, we`d experience a wholly new way to connect to each other, I think. Man, this is crazy. Anyway, yes, I solemnly promise not to fool around in your workshop anymore... Er, not that we were going to, anyways. Not after Foxy discovered she`s been leaning on liquid nitrogen jar the entire time."

"Heh. Well, that could be a chill in your affair, that`s for sure. While we`re on the topic, do try to eliminate the traces of butter next time, alright? Like, say, putting butterplate back into the fridge? Forgetting it once or twice is no big deal, but guys will eventually take notice if it will start turning up in weird places all the time." - she offered lazily, folding arms behind her head. Dale almost keeled over. "HH...how do you... ah? Howdoyouknowitsuswholeaveitaround!?" - he chittered, excitement driving him into higher gear. "Primo, I know enough of theory to know that certain... acts of affection might require lubrication. Secundo, I`ve seen you two going at it." - mouse explained, smirking at the panicking chipmunk, - "Relax, Dale. I don`t really care what you do. If it makes you two happy, go for it. S`not any of my business to tell you how to love each other."

It seemed that Dale was just about to have an aneurism. Or maybe do a wild enough take to turn inside out. "Holy cheeze on a cracker! ..I.. Gah. I thought we were like, super-spy about it!" - he exclaimed, gesticulating wildly. Gadget contemplated dumping a glass of cold water on him, but felt too lazy to get up just yet - "Oy, it`s not like anyone else figured it out yet. Just try and be a bit more super-spying about it next time, if it`s such a big deal to you." "You really... um... don`t care?" -he ventured cautiously. Mouse shook her head - "Golly, no. Why should I? Maybe I`d get worried if you dated only for sex, but that`s clearly not the issue. Speaking of which, you`d better close the curtain all the way. I can see chocolates." With a high-pitched yelp, Dale raced around the room on all fours, giving it no less then three complete revolutions before he finally arrived to the curtain... And yanked on it with such a force that it popped the curtain rod clean off the wall. "GAAAH!"

Amused and distracted from her own voes by Dale`s antics, Gadget felt her good mood returning, as she calmed down high-strung chipmunk and reattached the curtain to the wall properly. "There, all fixed. You have fun now with Foxglove, alright?" - she offered, retreating to her room. Frazzled Dale could only nod.

* * *

Gadget`s good mood did not survive the night. She`s been plagued by the same dream again. Well, sort of. By now, she was acutely aware she attempted to follow Tammy. And sometimes even succeeded. But each time she actually caught up to the squirrel, she woke up, panting and shuddering. Mousette considered opening her veronal stash again, but hesitated to do so. Dream based on conscious desire wouldn`t just go away, and sedative would be palliative at best. No, the issue must be nipped in the bud for dreams to stop - that much she already knew from prior experience. But then again... If dreams were based on conscious desire, maybe lucid dreaming was an option?

Apparently, it was, she concluded in the morning. Her bed was a mess that she could only describe as "orgy ruins". The idea she alone was responsible for that did nothing to raise her spirits. Situation was spiraling out of control. Stripping the linens for washing, she added her nightshirt in and snuck to the bathroom, wary of people seeing, or worse yet, catching a whiff. Having dumped laundry into washing machine, she freshened up to the best of her capacity, and returned back to her room to examine damage done to the bed. Not as bad as initial glance suggested, but still, repairs took her almost twenty minutes. She devoted another ten to reinforce weak spots, as she was fairly certain there would be an encore next night. And the night after that. Scary - could such active dreaming actually wear her body to the point of exhaustion failure? She felt sore and tired, even though soreness was of a pleasant kind.

"Gadget-luv, are ya alright? Yer lookin` loike you were through a hurricane." - Monty`s concerns did little to alleviate Gadget`s weary state. She sighed and plopped down on the couch, resting her head on her hands. "I`ll live. Just bad dreams, nothing serious." - she murmured, - "What`s for breakfast, Monty?" "Me famous flapjacks, luv. Here, I`ve got some ready already. Help yerself." - he answered, settling a plate near her elbow.

"Sounds good." - mousette murmured as she snatched up one and munched on it. It was good. Tammy`s cooking would be better, though. "Boys are asleep yet?" - she asked absentmindedly, "Chip an` Zipper still are. Now Dale, he was up at the dawn, he did. Said he`s got some business with his lady luv ta discuss." - offered Monty. "Ah. So where are they?" - she wondered idly. "Don`t roightly know, luv. Dale asked not ta wait fer him an` have breakfast, tho, so I reckon they`ve gone to the city. Come ta think of it, he did mention something about morning cinema."

That suited Gadget just fine. She needed to devise some plans on her own. It was Saturday, after all. Tammy would be here around the noon. That left her several hours to consider her plans and put them to life. Promise given two days ago weightened heavily on her. She knew she promised to arrange a date with Chip for Tammy, and she had the means to do so. However, she felt distinctly disinclined to do so. On the flip side, if she were to renege on her promise, that would give Tammy plenty of reasons to think of her unfondly. So, like it or not, but that date had to happen. And afterwards?... Well, that depended on how well Chip could treat Tammy. If he happened to be good to her, Gadget could feel easier. Otherwise... Chip would have to go. And chances are, that`s exactly what will happen.

The question is, how to be rid of Chip? Obvious answer was on the surface. Chip needs to die. There`s no reasonable way to persuade him to leave, nor would his continued presence in this world do anything good for Tammy`s crush. Chip would not be exactly gracious enough to bow out of this existence on his own. Meaning she, Gadget, would have to render the necessary assistance. And avoid getting caught. Crude laws made no accounting for matters of heart and happiness at times. Too bad "he needed killings" wasn`t reasonable line of defence in court.

Well, how to arrange the necessary... assistance? It would be easy enough to just toss him out of the plane next time they`d fly somewhere. But then she`d be prime suspect. If it came to that, just about any accident at HQ would make her a prime suspect, as well. Except maybe... setting whole tree on fire? No, too crude. Besides, it was too valuable to expend so easily. Fake him a suicide, maybe?... Hard to justify why he`d want to do that. No obvious signs - that`s bound to get suspicious too. Not good. But how... HOW? She couldn`t wait for an act of nature to finish him off... Wait. Act of nature?... Act of nature... OF COURSE. Act of nature! Heh. Heheh. Heheheee... An act of karmic retribution, if anything.

She sprung to her feet, as last bits of plan clicked together in her head. And collided with Chip, who was just entering the room. They went down in a tangle of limbs. "Gah!" "Ow!" A second later, Chip pushed upwards, still not sure what exactly bowled him over. And immediately got slapped. "CHIP! Keep your hands to yourself!" - Gadget was quite understandably angry. Of course, chipmunk had no intention to grope her breasts, but yet, there he was, both of his paws firmly over the round flesh under the coveralls. Shrugging off his explanations and excuses, she stomped off to workshop, leaving red-cheeked Chip and bewildered Monty behind.

"What`s with her?", - mused Chip slowly, as he felt the bruise on his cheek, - "Last few days she`s... well, crazy." Monty shrugged, flipping another flapjack deftly, - "I`m not certain, pal. Might be just that time of month again fer her. Or maybe she`s got an eye fer someone." Chip turned around, his brow quirked - "Ok, first idea I can accept. But what about her being in love?" Big mouse shrugged - "Well, she`s been havin` them dreams again. An` she`s not exactly quiet when she has`em, yanno. I kin hear it jes` fine in me next door suite. Now, I ain`t no eavesdropping type, mate, but I kin swear she`s been seein` someone hot an` lean in `er dream." "Right, but what does that have to do with slapping me?" - interjected Chip hotly. "Ya groped her, mate, remember? Now, Gadget`s usually a good sport to know yer`s not the kind to grope `er on purpoise, but when she`s head over heels fer someone, she just might take that kind of mistake the wrong way, yanno." - offered Monty reasonably, - "Yer not done that on purpoise, now did ya?" Chipmunk detective shook his head vigorously - "Of course no. Who do you take me for, a cad?... Huh. Guess I better go apologise."

He had little luck. Gadget said she is aware he didn`t do that on purpose, and is not upset at him, but he was still left standing in front of closed and locked workshop door. He informed inventor of his plans to spend dayoff on the beach, and attempted to invite her along, but reply was less then coherent. Apparently, she was busy with yet another invention, he surmised, as he strolled back to the kitchen. Day-off started off the wrong foot, but there`s still plenty of time to make something good out of it, he rationalised. Chip briefly considered offering his help as a token of reparation, so to speak, but that intention proved to be moot, as Gadget left about five minutes later.

"No time to talk, guys. I`ve got to get the necessary stuff while the idea`s fresh on my mind." - she tossed hastily, preparing Ranger Wing for takeoff, - "I`ll be back in an hour or so." "Wait, do you need any help!?" - hollered Chip as she jumped in the cockpit. She smirked at him, and for the first time in his life, that smile sent shivers down his spine - "No, thanks Chip. You`ll just be in the way." And with that she was off, plane rapidly ascending to the sky. He tried to guess where were she going by the direction, but then realised her destination was hardware shop just out of park. No real point following, chipmunk reasoned.

* * *

Gadget indeed quickly raided hardware shop for the parts she needed to put her plan into motion. It did help that she was aware now about Chip`s plans to hit the beach. He did prefer a specific stretch of beach slightly off-ways that was only used by Rangers themselves due to being reachable easily only by plane - a nice little stretch of sand tucked neatly inbetween shore cliffs. A long while ago, Gadget was using that particular nook as her laboratory for sea-related experiments, which made it a perfect spot both to use it as a beach and as a murder place. Of course, he might have opted for a public beach, but that would have to be settled once she`d be back in HQ.

Mouse landed the plane neatly on the top of cliff. Time to put her planning to hard work. Working quickly, she secured plane wench cable to her waist, and rappeled down the cliff face, picking off a good spot about three feet below the peak. Smearing the rock with acryloxide, she slapped her homemade blastcap in place, and flipped the switch on remote, letting wench hoist her to safety. Sound of explosion was quickly masked by the din of ways lapping on the shore. She rappeled down again, armed with a crowbar. Working quickly, she cleaned out the resulting hole and gave it regular form. A few trips up and down the wench cable later, her device was firmly mounted into the clifftop. Lighter butane tank would keep it working till sunset, at the very least.

She pushed the last cable in place, and grinned victor`s grin as Van De Graaff generator hummed to life. Leiden jars were aligned neatly. She gingerly flicked the tip of one with claw and was rewarded by momentary corona discharge jolting through her hand. "Agh. I needed that." - she muttered fondly, grinning at the construction. Charge would be continually accumulating in Leiden jars. High-voltage charge was be quite enough to simulate lightning strike to anyone present. Rain would be necessary, but for that she also had a solution.

Five minutes later, seven small rockets were securely mounted on various cliff peaks, each carrying a load of silver iodide and liquid propane. All of them would be fired off on Gadget`s remote signal, and disperse the chemical in the air high above the beach, causing the rain. That would serve only to persuade everyone present that a sudden summer storm had happened, pure disguise. Actual killing would be done by the sheer voltage produced by generator, as it would discharge through a hapless chipmunk.

Last task required most precision and care. Down at the beach, Gadget sought a good place for her plot. An observation platform just off to the side was a good choice. In effort to make it durable, it`s been constructed out of sheet metal.. Which was exactly the thing Gadget was looking for. She carefully attached the last piece of her puzzle to the far support of platform. That piece was chemical laser, a mirrored tube containing hydrogen peroxide and iodine. It was good only for one shot, but that was all that she needed - a trigger to engage the lightning strike. She aligned it carefully, making sure it faced the contact plate high above, connected to Leiden jars. Resulting thunderstrike would all but evaporate the equipment she used - most certainly, make it virtually impossible to suggest she was responsible for lightning, let alone prove it to anyone.

Satisfied with alignment, Gadget took some time to mask laser, making it look like leftover from one of her previous experiments, weathered and blackened by sea water. It was getting close to the time of her gambit, so she scrambled to the plane and flew towards the HQ. In the last minute, she changed the course slightly, and made a short landing by Tammy`s house to pick her up. Young squirrel was surprised to say the least, but promise of a beach alone with Chip had quickly won her unyielding support. In all honesty, mouse was quite surprised at the speed at which Tammy had... well, probably jumped, into her beachwear and into the plane.

Having procured the object of her desires, Gadget laid her course towards HQ, and reached it just in the nick of time too, as they almost collided with Dale and Foxglove at the door. Whom, as it appeared, popped in only to announce they would be off for the whole day attending the B-movie Saturday Night Cinema Maraphon, as Dale proudly announced. Monterey and Zipper had left while Gadget was absent. If mouse knew them good, which she did, they would spend their time getting stuffed, respectively, with cheeze and apple cores, then take a long roundabout track to the HQ to walk off "inebriation". Perfect. Just as planned.

She watched Chip with amusement. Black-nosed chipmunk was truly at the loss. He never expected to end up in such a quandary, but yet, there he was, with no good reason whatsoever not to invite Tammy along. He glared at Gadget, clearly sending across the message - "I`ll get back at you for that, just you wait.". At times, he was certain, blonde mouse simply lacked the concept of proportion. Tammy was a nice gal, but to subject him to a whole day of lovesick teenager over a simple mistake? Or was there something more to it, then this?

"Come on, Gadget. Come with us. A day at the beach would do you good." - he insisted. Mouse merely shook her head - "Sorry, Chip, but I really need to finish my invention. Besides, wouldn`t you rather spend a day with Tammy?" - she retorted. Chip almost answered that honestly, but then remembered who`s standing right by him, hanging off each his word. So he limited his truth to a seething glare. Gadget relented a bit, seemingly - "Look... I`ll fly you to the beach, and I`ll join you as soon as I`m done, alright? I can`t quit now, it would hound me all the time I`m out there. D`you really want me to have a mental failure and run off with plane to get things done here?" Tammy piped in with - "Gosh, that`s awfully thoughtful of you, Gadget." Chipmunk knew when he was beaten. "Alright, I give, I give. We`ll do things your way." - he acquesqued grumpily.

Trip to the beach was uneventful. Chip was still feeling somewhat miffed and chose to share back seat with Tammy, so he only noticed the course they were taking when plane was already drifting above the cliffs. "Whoa, wait, wait... Our beach?" - he exclaimed, leaning over the front seat to talk to Gadget. "Golly!... Well, I guess so. Haven`t really thought about it, so I just steered towards the first beach I thought of." - mouse tossed back carelessly, her hair whipping in the wind - "Heeeeeere we come!" Chip slumped back in defeat. Now it was getting worse. Gadget had just all but confined him to beach with Tammy, all alone. That couldn`t be unintentional. Gadget had some... plan.

With trepidation, he disembarked from the plane. Tammy bounded after him, happy as a lark. He sorely wished he could be as happy. But he couldn`t. Something bothered him. Gut feeling. He couldn`t rationalise his hunch yet, but he was fairly certain something was wrong about Gadget. Something was off. He could not point out what, though. Best to bide their time and see what comes out of it. Here, on the beach, he felt fairly confident he could take on anything that could be wrong with Gadget. Even if she were hypnotised or mindconrolled somehow, beach had the advantage of both of them being quite close to au naturele. And Chip was confident in his ability to take on Gadget, if really needed. He sorely dreaded doing so, though.

As the plane lifted, Gadget leaned over the edge of cabin and blew a kiss. Chip could`ve sworn she blew it at Tammy. Tammy... didn`t knew what to think. "Argh! What was that, I wonder?" - she groused, as she threw down her beach towel, - "Was she flirting with you, Chipper?" Shaking his head slowly, Chip turned to face Tammy directly. "I don`t think so, Tammy. I really don`t think so." - he offered seriously, his brow creasing as he thought it over. Something popped high above. Both of them simultaneously lifted their heads to investigate. Chip shook his head, as he saw Ranger Plane careening away on the rocket boosters. Gadget could be completely crazy at times.

Tammy was not persuaded, however. "Well, who else she could`ve blown a kiss for?" - she demanded hotly. Chipmunk winced and sighed, as he reached a conclusion. "There`s a good chance it was meant for you, Tammy." - he offered. "For... me?" - now it was Tammy`s turn to feel puzzled. Chip picked up beach towel, and gestured towards the sand. "Let`s get comfy. I think... I think we really need to talk, Tammy. While Gadget is away and can`t hear us." - he offered seriously, as he plodded forward, picking up a good spot to settle. Confounded squirrel followed him, as if she were on the leash.

Spreading the towel, Chip settled down on it, and patted the space by himself, inviting Tammy to take a seat. She did, looking at Chip inquisitively. "Is something... wrong with Gadget, Chipper?" - despite the nickname she used, it was obvious she also took situation seriously now. Chipmunk sighed, and flopped back, staring in the sky. "I don`t know." - he admitted, watching the gathering clouds, - "I only suspect. She`s been increasingly... unstable, I guess, for the last two days. At first, we chalked it up to natural reasons, but she`s going beyond cranky now." Tammy blinked - "Come on, Chipper. Girls can get a little crazy at times. She`s been really swell to me last few days actually. Are you sure you`re not overreacting?"

He shook his head slowly, still gazing upwards. "I don`t know. Gadget was never this strange. From what I saw, she`s been bending over backwards to be nice to you. Monty says she was screaming in her sleep last night, and he`s fairly certain she was screaming for pleasure, not pain. And this thing just now... I mean, she`s been upset with me this morning. Real upset. And yet, she`s suddenly all nice to us, and... looks on me weirdly... I don`t know, Tammy. Maybe I`m reading too much into it all, but my gut tells me something`s not right with her." - he offered slowly, pondering each word, - "And I don`t want to jump to conclusions... But there`s a fair chance she`s in love with you, Tammy. Which explains a whole lot of stuff. Why she would sleep badly, why she would be suddenly so sweet to you, and why she`d be upset with me."

Tammy`s face reddened as the explanation proceeded. Unlike Chip, she began to understand what exactly was wrong with Gadget. And although it embarassed her a great deal, she knew she had to admit that to Chip. "Chipper... Chip. I think I know what`s wrong with Gadget." - she ventured, her voice becoming meeker and quieter with each spoken word - "I... I think I put a spell on her." Suddenly Chip was sitting up, and looking on Tammy intently. "What do you mean, a spell?" - he implored, urgency in his voice.

\- Magic spell.  
\- What kind of spell?  
\- ...love spell...  
\- By... Why would you do that? Why on Gadget?  
\- It`s by accident! It was meant for you! I had no idea she`d end up eating my pasta!  
\- ...Oh. So, you wanted to charm me? How ironic.  
\- So not funny, Chipper.  
\- No, not funny at all. And I was serious about irony. You needed no charm, Tammy.  
\- Wha... I don`t understand...  
\- Tammy, you had no need to charm me. I already like you.  
\- But... But... Why didn`t you ever...?  
\- Because you`re young. Because I`m insecure about feelings. A lot of stupid reasons, really. But... I like you, Tammy. At first, your flirting got under my skin somewhat terrible, I admit, but then I grew fond of you. Your sunny demeanor, your chipper attitude, your cooking... Ah, yes.  
\- ...But why did you admit that now?  
\- Because I have to, Tammy. Because not squaring things with you put my friend in danger none of us could`ve predicted. Gadget`s a genius, Tammy. I, for one, would not hazard a guess what kind of stuff she might think up under the influence of spell. One thing I`m certain of, though. If she`s charmed to you, my life is about to get much more hazardous. Because I know her, Tammy, I know her much better then you do, and I am aware just how obsessive she can be when an idea gets lodged in her head. - What she could do, Chipper? She`s our friend... well, charmed to me, even. Why would she do anything to you?  
\- Because I`m in the way? For all I know, I just might wake up one day in a crate bound for Timbuktu.  
\- Oh. So what do we do, Chip?  
\- Enjoy our dayoff, Tammy. Simply enjoy our dayoff and wait for Gadget to come back. Then we`ll confront her, and tell her about the spell. And then, we`ll get everyone together and see if Foxglove knows a way to undo that spell. Speaking of which, where did you got it, even?  
\- Er... From Foxglove, actually. She loaned me a book of witch recepies. It`s in some really strange language though, and only a couple of recepies are translated on english. Foxglove says most of translated stuff in the book is hogwash, though. Something about bad translation, I recall.  
\- Do you still have the book?  
\- Of course I do, Chipper. I`m supposed to give it back to Foxglove someday, you know.  
\- I remember that. I was wondering if you returned the book, or not yet, actually.  
\- Oh.

Tammy leaned closer to Chip, seeking some comfort. Usually, Chip would shy away, but today, he could use some comfort as well. He leaned back again, and offered her an arm. Squirrel didn`t have to be asked twice. As her slender body snuggled against his, Chip let out a soft sigh. She might be young, but she`s not too young already. Maybe... Maybe he could really have something meaningful with her. Still, Gadget lingered in the depths of his mind. Beautiful Gadget in a white summer dress, waiting for him, diamonds glistening on her finger... He sighed. Some dreams... Just don`t come true.

* * *

Distant whine of propellers woke Chip up from his slumber. He dosed off on the beach, waiting for Gadget to come. Tammy was still napping, and he wanted not to disturb her. Best if he could confront Gadget alone. Less of a chance of her becoming angry at Tammy for that mishap in first place. Apparently, Gadget noticed him as well, as she circled high above his head and steered plane off to the far end of beach, where she usually parked plane when it was to stay there for a while. Chip followed, pausing by the bag of his supplies to pull out hefty machete. He was dreading the necessity, but there might be a chance Gadget would have to be knocked out to be helped. And there`s no telling what kind of machinery she could unleash on him if she happened to be in the mood for some mayhem. Best come prepared, no matter how much it pained him to think about it.

Gadget was standing on the observation platform. She leaned on the railing, watching the sky. As he stepped on the platform, metal clanked under his paws, announcing his arrival abundantly clearly. She heard. "A storm is coming, Chip." - mouse offered without turning around. She`s been dressed in her conservative swimsuit, Chip noticed, and just like him, she had a scabbard on her back. "Funny how rapidly things change sometimes." - he agreed, fingering the handle nervously, as he approached. Swish. Swish. Clink.

Even as he was ready for anything, he still barely managed to whip out his machete to block the rapid blow. She smiled at him, her eyes glistening with bloody intent. "Yes. Things change so fast." - she agreed, sidestepping. He started circling in opposite direction, trying to keep Gadget in front of him all the time. "Does it really have to come to this, Gadget?" - he offered cautiously, - "Can`t we just talk it over?" She shook head slowly, deftly flipping the blade around - "Sorry, Chip. You`ve had your chances. Now... you have to go." He shook his head - "Snap out of it, Gadget. You`ve been charmed." She grinned widely - "Who cares? Knife fight! You`re gonna fight for your life..." He recognised the line - "Knife fight! You`re gonna fight with a knife? A really really sharp knife?" Her grin again sent chills down his spine - "Yeah. I`m a crazy son of a bitch, I`mma cut you!" Swish, swish. He barely omitted her strikes again, a few strands of brown fur falling on the metal as he leaped out of the way. So much for this being just a joke.

"You`re just going to shank me, Gadget?" - he breathed out, backing off from her slowly, - "You`ll get caught. Tammy would hate you forever. How`s that going to help you?" She smirked, and quirked her brow, sing-songing - "I`m just waaaaaaiting... for the raaaaaain." "Rain?" - he was confused. What would she need the rain for? Suddenly, it all became clear, as she took a step back, and flipped the blade in her hand, it`s broad tip punching through old debris on the rail. "Time to ride the lightning, Chip." - she called out, - "You deserve to go out with a bang."

Debris fell away. It was just a cover, hidding a shining cylinder under it. A laser, he mentally corrected himself, as it hissed and disgorged a ray of light upwards. Pretty powerful laser, he corrected himself again, as his eye noticed the tell-tale glow of blooming along the ray. But it didn`t hit him. Gadget missed? So widely? Can`t be. He lunged at her. Her knife be damned, he`d be dead regardless. He never heard the thunderclap, but he saw a flash as electricity surged down the path marked by the ray. His fur instantly caught on fire, as he started his leap.

Gadget clicked her heels together, and leaped back nimbly, holding her legs pressed together tightly. Thick rubber soles of her beach slippers protected her from the voltage surge, and keeping legs together spared her of secondary potential difference shock, as she sailed over the railing and fell down. Sand met her back harshly, and she doubled over, harsh landing knocking the air out of her. Clang above made her jerk her head up. Chip`s charred remains hit the railing. She rolled to the left, as his half-melt machete fell out of his paw and on the sand where she just was, clipping her calf slightly. Slowly and painfully, she rose to her feet, sheathing machete carefully.

As she limped out from under the platform, she undone the clasps and tossed her machete into the load of beach equipment she started unloading from the plane. There, now noone would guess what happened, she thought, as she continued towards the beach as fast as her limp would allow her. Tammy was already running towards her and the grisly scene behind her. As Tammy got close, Gadget lunged at her, and caught her in a tight hug. "Stop... Don`t go there." - she croaked, her breathing still heavy. Squirellette pushed her, but Gadget would not be budged, - "Don`t!"

"CHIP! CHIIIIIIP!" - apparently, Tammy understood something really bad happened. Gadget leaned her head on Tammy`s shoulder, and sighed softly. "He`s gone." - she muttered, - "That lighning hit him almost directly... he had no chance." "No, no, NOOOO! CHIIIIIIIP!" - Tammy struggled, but her pushes became weaker and weaker as she gave in, sobbing into Gadget`s shoulder. "No, it can`t be... Not now. Not him... WHY?!"

Raindrops hit the sand, as Gadget run her hand over Tammy`s back, trying to calm squirrel. She was aware she`s been bleeding, but that wasn`t all that important at the moment. A few minutes in the rain passed before Tammy looked up, her eyes still tearing up. "What happened?" - she whispered. Gadget looked her straight in the eye and answered with utmost honesty - "We were talking on the observation platform. I`ve been looking on the storm clouds. We were joking about stuff... Then lightning stroke, right into the platform. He... he... he`s dead, Tammy. He tried to jump off, but he`s been too late. I had rubber slippers on, so I only hurt my leg when I was jumping out... I think I caught the railing. Don`t go there. Whole platform`s ought to be still red hot. And... you don`t... don`t need to see him... like that... Oh god. I... he`s gone. I can`t believe it."

Shuddering, Tammy wept, as she listened to Gadget explaining. "No... This can not be happening." - she moaned, struck with grief. Suddenly, Gadget stumbled, almost falling over, as her wounded leg suddenly bent against Gadget`s will. "Oh no... you`re hurt too?" - squirrel whispered, as she supported mouse awkwardly. Together, they limped to the plane, where Tammy managed to bandage Gadget`s leg. It wasn`t exactly sufficient, but it would hold till they`d arrive to HQ with it`s stocked infirmary chest.

Gadget did her best to keep Tammy from seeing still smoking skeleton of chipmunk, and succeeded in not letting the squirrel come close. There was nothing either of them could do for Chip, right now. So Gadget started to do things for themselves. She gently but insistently herded bawling Tammy in the RangerWing, and started engines, bound for Ranger HQ.

* * *

Ceremony was a somber one. As the eldest among them, Monty had read a moving eulogy about Chip, and how he brightened the day of many a person. Tammy could not say anything. Her throat felt as if it was tied shut with ribbon. Black ribbon. She just chucked the handful of dirt when it was her turn to do so, and turned away, sobbing quietly. She could not even see him for the last time. What remained of him had to be in closed casket. It was... surreal. Nightmarish. The only bright spot still there was Gadget. From the day of tragedy, she`s been there for squirrel. Even today, she was standing by Tammy`s side, still leaning on elbow crutch.

Gadget`s leg healed slowly. Just a cut or just a burn would be easy enough to treat, but a deep cut immediately sutured by hot metal proved to be a tough injury to overcome. She will overcome it with time, however, that much was obvious, even though it was just as obvious that scar and light limp would stay with her till the end of her days. She paid her injury no mind, though, concentrating on Tammy. Young squirrel was stricken by grief still, but Gadget persevered. She saw the sighs. Not once and not twice there was an affection in Tammy`s voice, Tammy`s eyes, Tammy`s touch. She could allow herself to be patient. Tammy would be hers.

As she led sobbing squirrel away from the church, Gadget steered her to the bench. "Tammy? I know you`re... feeling raw. But I really think you should have that." - she said, pulling a small box with a ring out of her pocket. Mouse opened the box, diamonds reflecting light as she offered it to Tammy, - "Chip would`ve really wanted you to have that." Her lip trembling, Tammy gingerly plucked the ring out and looked on it quizzically. "I... how?" - she croaked. Gadget gently wrapped arm around squirellette`s shoulders, as she`s done many a time by now. "He gave it to me before he... you know. It needed to be adjusted to fit your finger. I thought you should have it." Tammy slipped it on her finger wordlessly, and leaned to Gadget, crying freely.

* * *

It`s been more then a year, thought Tammy morosely. Gadget was there for her. Eventually, Gadget did win her over too. She never expected to become a lesbian, yet that`s precisely what Gadget made her to be. Not that she minded much. Living with Gadget was ... nice. Always thoughtful, always there for her, always appreciative of her cooking... Not to mention that sex was simply mindblowing. At first, Tammy couldn`t think straight. She needed someone to be there for her, and Gadget was. Then, squirrel was afraid to be left alone again. She thought about the spell a lot lately, however. And it was making her sad. What right did she have to force Gadget to love her so selflessly?

The more Tammy thought about it, the less she liked herself. What was she, really? A witch who held captive the best person in the whole world? That was... so bad. So nasty to do to Gadget. She needed to end it. She needed to break the spell on Gadget. And be what will be. Even if Gadget will hate her... Tammy felt she deserved to be hated.

Today, all would be resolved, she decided, as she knocked gingerly on workshop`s door, old spellbook in hand. Gadget`s melodious voice welcomed her inside, and she stepped in gingerly. "Gadget?.. I need to confess something." - she began, laying the book on the table - "You don`t love me." Blinking, mouse put down screwdriver, and turned to face Tammy completely. "I`m sorry, I must`ve misheard, dear. I most certainly love you." - she objected matter of factly, wiping her hands with the rag.

"No. It`s not you who loves me. I... I charmed you to love me. By mistake. Back then, when I was after... after Chip, I`ve put a witch spell on pasta that I brought for him. I thought I could get him to love me that way... Instead... Instead you ate it, and ended up loving me. I... I love you, Gadget, really, but it`s just not fair to you, to keep you in captivity like that. I want to.. to try and reverse the spell. I know you... you might hate me after, but I simply can`t... go on like this." - Tammy explained, words coming out rushed and stumbling, as she twiddled her thumbs. Her blood suddenly curdled for a moment, as Gadget looked her squarely in the eye.

"So. I`m hexed to love you?" - she asked, picking up a book and leafing through it, - "With this spell, I believe? Archa at dybied amdana fi, dragwyddol... And so on?" Tammy could only nod, her cheeks burning from shame. Gadget read through the spell. "Ah. I see. Good thing I can read Welsh." - she muttered, as she leafed through the untranslated part of the book. "Well, this book indeed does explain how to undo this spell." - she offered wryly, - "It`s fairly easy, too." Tammy perked up, smiling shyly, - "Can we do it? Do you know what to do?"

Gadget nodded thoughtfully, her eyes taking on hard glint as she scrutinised the book in her hand. "Yes. I know exactly what I must do." - she replied, as she tossed the book into blast furnace. "Wait... WHAT?!" - Tammy did not expect this to happen. Before her eyes, Gadget calmly threw the switch, and book was instantly reduced to smoke and ashes. "I`m sorry, Tammy, but I can`t let you do that." - she offered in the way of explanation.

"BBBut... But why?!" - Tammy could not understand. "Do you really want to know?" - that was the question Tammy could only nod to, spastically. "Because I`ve killed Chip. This hex justifies what I`ve done, but I know I wouldn`t be able to live with myself if you were to remove the hex." - mouse explained calmly, - "If you want to get rid of me... then kill me." Tammy run out of workshop, stumbling as she was overtaken by panic.

* * *

It`s been almost a week since Gadget burned the book. Tammy couldn`t settle herself down. She loved Gadget. She also hated Gadget now that she knew Gadget murdered Chip. Later that day, when she got a hold of herself, she went back to workshop, and demanded to know how exactly Chip was killed. And so, Gadget explained to her. She had to admit, Gadget was indeed genius, and now she fully understood the worry Chip felt on the beach. She also knew there is no way to accuse Gadget of the murder she committed. No proof, besides what Gadget told herself. And Tammy was well aware Gadget wouldn`t confess what she did to anyone but her.

In the end, it was all because of hex. If she didn`t hex Gadget back then, Chip would be alive, and Gadget wouldn`t be so... Tammy didn`t knew what to do. She wanted to hold and hug Gadget and tell her everything will be alright. She also wanted to kill her. She wanted to burn her like she burned Chip. But she didn`t knew what she must do. Maybe both. Maybe Gadget wanted to die. After all, she did tell Tammy directly to kill her back then.

She snuck into Gadget`s workshop. Gadget was working again, as usual. She also knew Tammy was there. "Gadget?" - Tammy wanted attention. Mouse turned around slowly. "Ye...mmm..." - she could not finish. Tammy pounced her, her hands pushing Gadget`s back against the table, as Tammy`s lips crushed against Gadget`s. Squirrel felt ravenous for gratification, her fingers ripping Gadget`s clothes open as she pressed on her "attack", assaulting the mouse underneath her with pleasure.

Gadget moaned softly. Her lips were bloodied from the frenzied kisses, and body hurt in ways she could not even envision before. Tammy really outdone herself this time, savoring every drip of pleasure Gadget`s body could provide, demanding and possessive. She laid sprawled across the table, Tammy`s figure looming above her. "I love you, Gadget." - squirrel whispered softly, as she grabbed the crossbow bolt from Gadget`s table, and rammed it through the mouse, pinning her to the desk. Blood bubbled over her lips as inventor struggled weakly, giving in to Tammy`s strike.

"Cough... cough... So... you... decided to... cough... kill me after... ah... all..." - she still spoke, through bloody bubbles, smiling at squirrel. "Yes." - she offered curtly, leaning closer - "I need to let you go. I can`t forgive you just like you can`t forgive yourself. But it was not your fault, it was mine. So I killed you, and your sin is now mine, as it is supposed to be." "Coff... is it... worth it... cough... to be free.. ah.. .of me? the... Cough... jail?" - Gadget was dying, she knew, but that mattered little. "I`ll live. We all do our penance, don`t we?" - offered Tammy, smiling freely for the first time in a long while. Gadget grinned back, her arm rising to grasp the haft of bolt piercing her chest - "Maybe... But... I forgive you. Run." Her fingers broke off the tail, revealing a pair of ripped wires. Bolt beeped ominously, as Gadget closed her eyes - "Seven... beeps... Go..."

Squirrel bounded out of the room. Beep. Down the stairs. Beep. Beep. Out of the front door. Beep. Beep. Beep. BLAAAM! Force of explosion threw Tammy flat on her stomach, debris flying over her head. Whatever exploded, it was more then just one bolt. But... Gadget could`ve kept a lot of explosive stuff in her workshop. Clang. Sharp pain in her leg made Tammy turn back to look. One of inventor`s wrenches landed on her ankle, giving her a nasty bruise. Their house was almost completely demolished, leaving nothing for her to stay her. She picked herself up, and slowly, painfully, limped off.

Donna was expecting no visitors that late. But she was not asleep yet, so when she heard the knock, she did came down to open the door. "Hello, mom... They`re all dead now... I`ve killed them. Can I come home?" - Tammy wondered, leaning heavily on the doorstep rail. She slumped down, her conscience giving up finally.

* * *

 _ **Epilogue:**_

 **Admission Form #193810,  
** ** _NYCentral, Municipal Asylum_.**

 _Name:_ Tammy Chestnutt  
 _Species:_ Squirrel  
 _Height:_ 5.6 inches  
 _Weight:_ 4.2 lbs  
 _Fur:_ Auburn  
 _Hair:_ Red  
 _Eyes:_ Green

 _Diagnosis:_ shizophrenia.

Patient believes she`s responsible for deaths of Chip Maplewood and Gadget Hackwrench, both prominent members of Rescue Rangers law enforcement/disaster relief volunteer organisation. Patient had a year-long relationship with aforementioned Gadget Hackwrench, and was closely familiar with Chip Maplewood as well. While relevant facts suggest that indeed, patient had been romantically involved with both aforementioned persons, there is nothing to indicate her involvement in their deaths. Chip Maplewood had been electrocuted by lightning strike. Gadget Hackwrench perished in accidental explosion in her laboratory a year later. Neither of accidents could`ve been realistically arranged by patient. Patient claims that her involvement in the accidents was of mystical nature, namely, casting a hex on both objects of her obsession. Admitted to asylum after double attempt at suicide.

 _Prognosis:_ promising.

While patient is currently still unstable, she`s showing considerable improvement in last few weeks. Most notable is her progress during work therapy. She shows considerable prowess with construction and machinery of all kinds and provided a complete recovery, might be well suited to engineering profession. While condition of patient might improve considerably enough to be released within a month, possiblity of relapse is still quite high. Regimen of sedatives is recommended.


End file.
